The Southern University Alumni Federation (SUAF) elected Opelousas, Louisiana native Preston J. Castille Jr. national president at its national conference in Houston, Texas, July 11, 2014.

Castille, a 1990 Southern University and A&M College graduate, is a business lawyer with the Baton Rouge law firm Taylor Porter. He previously held the post of legal counsel of the SUAF. Castille, a 1994 graduate of the Tulane University Law School, also is an adjunct law professor with Southern University and Louisiana State University law schools. He was previously appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to serve as judge pro tempore with the Baton Rouge City Court.

"I really love Southern University and I am looking forward to working with all of our very gifted graduates. I am grateful for this opportunity and I am extraordinarily excited about our future," Castille said.

"The leaders of the Southern University Alumni Federation have worked tirelessly to promote and help Southern University in whatever way possible," said Robyn Merrick, director of alumni affairs and executive director SUAF. "These new officers will continue that tradition and will do an outstanding job leading our organization and representing our alumni."

Immediate past national president, Dennis S. Brown, said, "Southern University is a very unique institution and its alumni are no less unique. I commend Preston and the new executive team and look forward to continuing to build a stronger Alumni Federation and Southern University."

"We’ve hit the ground running, literally," added Castille, who also serves as president of the Southern University Laboratory School Foundation and former president of the Baton Rouge Bar Association and the Southern University Student Government Association. "There is much to do at this critical juncture in the University’s history and none of it can be done without the committed support of the alumni."

Castille is married to Marian Callier Castille, and they have three children, Preston III "Trey," Jillian, and Abigail.